Talk of paying for a border wall this week fell away on Tuesday, revealing the real battle lines in a must-pass bill to keep the federal government running: whether to fund a provision that helps low-income Americans buy health insurance.

With only three days to spare before government funding expires, the greatest immediate question before Congress is whether the Trump administration will continue providing subsidies to insurers to help lower out-of-pocket costs for about 7 million low-income Americans under the Affordable Care Act.

The idea has some support among Republicans. Several GOP senators said Tuesday they would support Congress appropriating the money in the funding bill in order to keep the marketplace stable. “I think we need to ensure that Americans keep their coverage,” said Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy. But many conservatives, especially in the House, will loathe funding a piece of Obamacare that they have in the past characterized as a bailout.

So Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and House Appropriations Committee ranking member Nita Lowey, say they are giving Republicans an opportunity to bail themselves out of an awkward position.

In 2014, House Republicans sued the Obama administration for issuing the subsidies without consulting Congress. They argued that since the subsidies were never authorized during the congressional appropriations process, the White House violated Congress’s rights. That court case is still pending, but since Donald Trump is now president, Republicans essentially control both sides of the argument.

Trump could drop the executive branch’s defense of the case and end the subsidies at any time. Alternately, if the House prevails in the lawsuit, the subsidies would be struck down. But without them, the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets would be severely damaged, and since the GOP’s efforts to replace Obamacare flopped last month, Trump and House Republicans could be blamed for any disruptions to the marketplace.

So Democrats are saying that it is actually in Trump’s and Congress’s interest to do away with any ambiguity surrounding the subsidies. Democrats are pushing for language to clarify that Congress does indeed authorize the subsidies, according to a Democratic leadership aide.

Doing so would, in effect, force House Republicans to vote for a bill that renders their lawsuit moot and upholds a section of a law they revile. But leaving it to a judge to decide whether millions of low-income Americans can afford health care could be risky, especially for the party that controls both chambers of Congress and the White House.

“Republicans created this problem for themselves,” House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer said in a statement. “President Trump can instruct his administration today to make clear that the cost sharing reduction payments will continue to be made. If President Trump does not continue cost sharing reduction payments, or House Republicans succeed in stopping the subsidies in the courts, millions of Americans will be adversely impacted.”

The subsidies would cost the federal government $10 billion in 2018, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. But it would actually cost even more to get rid of them—about $12.3 billion—since tax credits would have to rise as premiums increase.

Trump must sign a bill by Saturday to keep the government up and running. Congress is considering a bill that would extend the roughly $1 trillion government spending rate through September, but it is likely lawmakers will need first to pass a short-term measure to avoid a shutdown this weekend and give negotiators a few more days to pass the legislation.

"It appears that way, but I will not support an extended CR. I will not vote for it. And I don't think a number of my colleagues will either," said Republican Sen. John McCain, who has long said he will not support a long-term continuing resolution.

While it remains unclear how Congress will address the subsidies, Republicans offered a proposal to Democrats on Tuesday that did not fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, lowering the possibility of a partial shutdown. The Trump administration as recently as last week had insisted on including money for a border wall in this bill. But the administration backed off due to the broad opposition from Democrats and concerns from some Republicans. The bill is expected to include other substantial funding for border security.

As the fight over the Obamacare subsidies remains the biggest hurdle, Democrats have also raised other, relatively minor concerns, including whether to backfill a Medicaid funding shortfall in Puerto Rico and whether to fund health benefits for coal miners.

Appropriators are anxious to wrap up this year’s appropriations process so they can move on to writing bills to fund the government for fiscal year 2018. They are already behind because they had to focus on funding for the rest of fiscal year 2017 and because of the presidential transition.

“We’ve got 12 appropriations bills to mark up for 2018, which we have not started yet. We’re usually done with that process by this time,” GOP Rep. Tom Rooney said. “We’ve got less than 12 working weeks before the August break, which means we couldn’t get them all done even if we wanted to.”

"President Trump signed a sweeping spending bill Friday afternoon, averting another partial government shutdown. The action came after Trump had declared a national emergency in a move designed to circumvent Congress and build additional barriers at the southern border, where he said the United States faces 'an invasion of our country.'"

Source:

REDIRECTS $8 BILLION

Trump Declares National Emergency

6 days ago

THE DETAILS

"President Donald Trump on Friday declared a state of emergency on the southern border and immediately direct $8 billion to construct or repair as many as 234 miles of a border barrier. The move — which is sure to invite vigorous legal challenges from activists and government officials — comes after Trump failed to get the $5.7 billion he was seeking from lawmakers. Instead, Trump agreed to sign a deal that included just $1.375 for border security."

Source:

COULD SOW DIVISION AMONG REPUBLICANS

House Will Condemn Emergency Declaration

6 days ago

THE DETAILS

"House Democrats are gearing up to pass a joint resolution disapproving of President Trump’s emergency declaration to build his U.S.-Mexico border wall, a move that will force Senate Republicans to vote on a contentious issue that divides their party. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Thursday evening in an interview with The Washington Post that the House would take up the resolution in the coming days or weeks. The measure is expected to easily clear the Democratic-led House, and because it would be privileged, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be forced to put the resolution to a vote that he could lose."

Source:

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, DRUG FORFEITURE FUND

Where Will the Emergency Money Come From?

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"ABC News has learned the president plans to announce on Friday his intention to spend about $8 billion on the border wall with a mix of spending from Congressional appropriations approved Thursday night, executive action and an emergency declaration. A senior White House official familiar with the plan told ABC News that $1.375 billion would come from the spending bill Congress passed Thursday; $600 million would come from the Treasury Department's drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion would come from the Pentagon's drug interdiction program; and through an emergency declaration: $3.5 billion from the Pentagon's military construction budget."

Source:

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SIGN

House Passes Funding Deal

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"The House passed a massive border and budget bill that would avert a shutdown and keep the government funded through the end of September. The Senate passed the measure earlier Thursday. The bill provides $1.375 billion for fences, far short of the $5.7 billion President Trump had demanded to fund steel walls. But the president says he will sign the legislation, and instead seek to fund his border wall by declaring a national emergency."